The East Asiatic House, built in 1963 at 1201 West Pender Street in Vancouver was architect Gerald Hamilton's first largescale exercise in New Formalism. Hamilton broke away from the typical single slab tower, instead framing a low banking pavilion with two adjoining office blocks. Sculptural wall panels of white marble create a richly textured effect and seem to float above the emerald green arched columns of the ground floor. The building's raised podium allowed an intimate front courtyard several feet above street level, the sense of calm repose accentuated by extensive plantings, fountains, and the requisite abstract sculpture.